One Big Family
by The Sparrow Messenger
Summary: A new country, a new university… as Kiku Honda, a Japanese scholarship student, goes through his school years in the US of A, he meets wacky new people and goes through strange new experiences, with a fiesty American, funloving Italian, stoic German, and many others. Who knows, he might end up finding his soulmate here... Human-AU, Ameripan, some GerIta and other ships.
1. Upon Arrival

**(Ships: - Ameripan (Main)** **\- PruCan - Spamano – Gerita – FrUK - AusHun (and some unrequited PruHun, at first!) – PolLiet – RoChu (if I can think of a way) – DenNor – SuFin - HongIce - SeaWy.)**

 **A quick note : This story is a College AU and some of the sibling/parent pairs in canon Hetalia have been split up for easier writing - however, some of the dynamics shared between certain characters still stay. Seeing as I don't live in the US and have never actually been there, I'll leave real-life locations out unless required. Most of the story is set in an ambiguous part of New York (the state, and also the city).**

 **Warnings will be in the top A/N if anything that may be triggering occurs in the chapter. For simplicity's sake, there will be translation for foreign words. Each time a new character is introduced, the country they represent, their age, and a short description will be included at the end of the chapter. As always, Hetalia isn't owned by me.**

* * *

Kiku stood awkwardly at the airport, awaiting whoever was sent to pick him up. Having just arrived from his quaint traditional home in the city of Tokyo, he had absolutely no idea what exactly he was supposed to do in a new land. After going through the customs and collecting his baggage, he waited in the Arrival wing of the airport as the rest of the world milled about him. For the first time in his life, he was actually in a Western country, far away from the Eastern world he came from – and all the more, he was alone. The quiet eighteen-year-old kept a look out throughout the area, trying to locate… exactly what? All he knew about the person was that they had blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a pair of silver glasses – and that their name was Alfred Kirkland. He wasn't given a picture, and that description applied to so many people in the middle of an American airport. How was he to know the name of a person he's never met?

It was not too long ago when Kiku sat outside the office, awaiting his interview. He had silently watched as others entered and exited the interview room in varying states of panic and disarray. Of course, Kiku himself wasn't completely calm, but he had finally decided to take his family's advice and try something new with the skills he already had. In the end, he decided to submit his application, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was shortlisted for the interview. During the interview, his calm polite demeanour gained favour with the interviewers. Finally, he got accepted into the famous American college as a scholarship student, filled to the brim with people from all parts of the globe. However, this meant he had to leave to a new land on his own, and that resulted in the situation he had inadvertently put himself into. To some extent, he was stressed out by the new situation after being cooped up for so long, but this was the "poison" he'd picked. Coming back to reality, he gathered his baggage and began moving towards the exit.

Before he had time to consider finding another place to sit and hide from the bulk of public eye, the voice of a loud and boisterous man interrupted his thought process and called out to him. "Hey, dude! Are you Kiku Honda?" Startled to hear his name, Kiku looked around, attempting to find the source of the voice. He quickly associated it to a young-looking male who was approaching him. "I-I… _eto_ …" While his English wasn't bad – in fact, it was one of the reasons why he could get the scholarship in the first place – he was definitely not used to suddenly being greeted out of nowhere, and by a stranger, no less. Regaining his composure after some time, he properly replied the strange American (or that was what Kiku presumed, at the very least), whilst comparing the facial features of the male to the description he was given. "…Yes, I am Kiku Honda. Might you be Alfred Kirkland?" _Blonde hair… yes, his hair is blonde and just a little messy. Light blue eyes… yes, and framed with silver glasses. A match to the description I got just before my flight. Although, the surname 'Kirkland' on an American is rather strange._

"Sweet! I was right, first try! Yes, I'm Alfred Foster Kirkland. I'm the one they sent to bring you to the dormitory! It's nice to meet you, Kiku!" Already shaking hands with Kiku fervently, Alfred exclaimed out all his words in a cheerful manner. It was almost all too overwhelming for the reserved Japanese, but that slipped past the notice of the bubbly American. Quickly dragged into the quick bouncy pace of Alfred Kirkland, Kiku simply followed along as the former guided him around the airport to his car, dragging his luggage along. Never having been particularly athletic, due in part to his reclusive nature, it took Kiku all his effort to follow the quick-footed man while squirming through the crowd, even with his useful advantage in weaving through the crowd.

Nevertheless, the duo reached the carpark in no time, Kiku trying to catch his breath. Putting the luggage into the trunk of the car, Alfred attempted to make conversation with his new 'friend'. "So, what course are you taking? I heard you have a scholarship, but never found out for what." When compared to the scrawny and slim Japanese, Alfred looked like a big buff giant, and Kiku wasn't particularly comfortable around him yet. For a Japanese man, Kiku was already of a smaller stature, so the difference in height was significant. "I'm getting a degree in Game Design, but I'm also taking some Law and Politics classes."

"Whoa! I'm in Law, so maybe we'll be in some of the same classes. How old are you? I'm nineteen, and I'm also just starting university this year." Alfred seemed pretty easy to approach and was friendly, if overwhelmingly so. Kiku decided he didn't quite mind the man, and they continued to converse throughout the car ride, talking about everything under the sun – from the upcoming university year ahead, to life in their respective countries, and to small talk about the weather.

Looking out of the car window, Kiku admired the view outside. As the weather was slowly turning colder and summer turned to fall, the outside was still relatively bright and colourful, even as multiple shades of brown appeared in small clumps, scattered around. "I have a little brother, Peter, who's always merry. He's still in high school, but he has a huge crush on this one girl from his class. He's always denying it, but it's obvious. And my older brother, Arthur, recently graduated from university. He's currently working as an editor for the newspaper, and is all fussy about proper spelling and stuff. Once, I played a prank on him by putting all the teabags in the bathtub and filling it with water…" Alfred went on with his long anecdotes about the mischief he got up to, and the punishments he got as a result. Kiku listened with slight interest, and was frankly amused by some of them. Not once did he interrupt his fun, as they made their way to the university campus.

"…Actually, Peter and Arthur are both from the UK, along with the rest of the Kirkland family. Their mother was a longtime friend of my parents, so when they died the Kirklands were more than happy to take me in as their own. They moved here soon after it happened." At this point, Alfred's voice got noticeably sadder, and he went silent, most likely recalling his parents. Kiku was intrigued by this fact, but hearing the lull in the conversation, decided against probing into details. He stayed silent, unable to think of a suitable answer for the situation. The duo stayed in the awkward silence.

Eventually, Alfred, in an attempt to lighten the mood, said, "Well… enough about me. Don't you think New York's pretty? It's still early in September, so the summer's still making the weather warm, and everyone's out there, enjoying it." Kiku agreed, and they continued such small talk for the rest of the trip.

Well, this is certainly a new beginning, thought the Japanese, wondering how his next few years as a university student in America would play out.

* * *

 _Eto :_ Equivalent to a Japanese "um" or "uh".

Characters :  
Kiku Honda, 18. Japan.  
 _A scholarship student from Tokyo, he is reserved and quiet. His name means "chrysanthemum", which is his mother's favourite flower and tea. Kiku enjoys playing video games, and was almost a hikikomori (except he attended school). He has a rocky relationship with his brother (China) but ultimately still loves him as part of the family too._

Alfred Foster Kirkland, 19. America.  
 _An American student, he lives in New York with his foster family. His parents died when he was 12, and was since taken in by the Kirkland family. His original name is Alfred Franklin Jones, and he keeps a precious heirloom given to him by his father. When sleepy, he slips into a Michigan accent, due to having grown up there._

Peter Kirkland, 15. Sealand (from England).  
 _Overly confident in himself, he has the mixed personality traits of his two older siblings. He has a crush on Kaelin Smith (Wy), and fervently denies it. Frequently annoys his eldest brother with Alfred, and is shockingly strong for his size. Peter loves to claim that he can solve college-level problems, but he really cannot._

Arthur Kirkland, 22. England.  
 _A tsundere, he has been frenemies with Francis Bonnefoy (France) for years upon years. He truly cares for his two siblings, but dislikes his cousins (Scotland and Ireland). He loves drinking English Breakfast tea, and is guilty of loving fantasy novels. He works as an editor, but writes stories in his spare time._

 **Thank you for reading this first chapter! Please review it if you liked it. I also have other (frankly incomplete) fanfictions, if you want to read them.**

 **Edit : Veto'd Kiku's course, because game design made more sense (and because I temporarily forgot that it was the course I wanted him to take in the first place).**


	2. Starbucks Escapades

Eventually, the car ride ended and Kiku and Alfred arrived at the university. Getting out of the car, Kiku looked up to the pristine front entrance that reflected all the style and class that this internationally-renown university indeed had. An institute with many years of history and a multitude of successful students, the intricacy of the decorative carvings was not to be snuffed at. Kiku sorely wanted to whip out his camera and take pictures like a fascinated tourist, but he would have a lot more spare time to do so during the breaks. Anyway, his camera was dead, after he used up all its battery during the ride. To a person like him, even a picture of a plain old tree was priceless, so it didn't come as much of a surprise that the camera's two batteries were out of charge. Kiku decided that he'd go phototaking before the school year started.

Hoisting Kiku's luggage out of his car, Alfred commented, "The university's huge, isn't it? I've explored it multiple times when Arthur still studied here, and sometimes I still get lost. And because the school has so many faculties, it's basically impossible to know every inch of it by heart. Don't worry, I'll show you around!" Handing the luggage over to Kiku, the two walked into the university's grounds, and Kiku couldn't help but awe at the sheer size of everything. There already was so much to see, and he hadn't even entered any of the buildings yet! An architecture student must have had to analyse all these for their schoolwork, that was for sure. There was simply so much to see, and every building had its own charm and elegance. As they walked around the main campus, Alfred pointed out each building and its associated faculty. "Over here's the Law faculty. You'll probably be here at least once every fortnight, since you're also taking some classes here. Maybe I'll show you around another time. And that's the Computing faculty – your main classes for Game Design will be there. I don't know much about that building though, I've never been there…" Oh, if only he hadn't drained both batteries already… there was simply so much to take! At least he had another few years to do so. The inner tourist in Kiku was annoyed, but he'd get through.

When they reached the dormitory buildings, Alfred contentedly exhaled. "Well, here it is! The dorms you'll be living in for your time here. I don't live in the dorms, since my house is within driving distance to the university, so I can't comment much on the interior. But it's pretty sweet-looking, that much I can assure you!" Already treating Kiku as if he was a friend of many years, he whipped out his phone to register Kiku as a contact. "Here's my number. Hit me up if you need help finding your way around town! I'll stay here until your roommate comes – I heard he's a bubbly Italian guy. You'll probably get along with him well enough." While Alfred sent a whole series of texts to various groups of people, Kiku wondered what it'd be like in the dorm. It was a novel experience for him – he'd never had to stay in a dorm before. It would certainly be a lot louder and more engaging than his tranquil home in Japan, he thought.

Right as Kiku tried to imagine what this new roommate of his would look like, the elevator dinged and out came another bubbly person. " _Marukaite Chikyuu, Marukaite Chikyuu, Marukaite Chikyuu, boku Hetalia!_ " He was merrily singing in… Japanese? Kiku almost cringed at the butchering of his native tongue, but couldn't quite expect much from a person who probably never actually spoke the language. This person probably just loved anime a lot, and was humming their favourite anime theme song. It didn't sound like one he recognised, though. Just then, the bubbly male looked up at Kiku and Alfred, having finally noticed their presence. "Ve~ Oh! _Ciao, ciao_! Are you my new roommate? _Vene, vene_! You must be, I've heard that you were a Japanese! I heard Japanese people are always quiet and reserved, are you like that? Oh, I watch anime sometimes, do you?" Goodness. This new person was already much more loud and active than Alfred.

Seeing that Kiku's roommate was there, Alfred decided to greet him. He simply couldn't resist chiming in. "This is Kiku Honda, a Japanese transfer student! You must be his new Italian roommate, right? He's really quiet, but he's great, trust me!" Suddenly, Alfred's phone began ringing, signalling his need to leave. "Sorry, I have to go. Have a great day, Kiku! Have fun with your new roommate!" As soon as he finished his sentence, Alfred was out of the door in a flurry and Kiku watched through the glass door. He had a lot of getting accustomed to do, especially if everyone was going to be as loud and bubbly as these two were. Shaking his head, he followed the cheerful Italian into the elevator, dragging his luggage along and wondering how he'd make it through university.

"This is our dorm room! It's a little messy, but it's home! Sometimes, my brother Romano comes over before class. If you catch somebody that looks like a darker-skinned version of me lurking around here, that's him! _Fratello_ might act like he hates you at first, but he's just a little shy!" Kiku looked around. For what it's worth, it was relatively clean. The main issue was the fact that there were art supplies strewn all over the room, so a single misstep could cause paint to splatter everywhere. The room floor was basically a minefield of tubes, brushes, charcoal and paper, and the two had to look carefully before walking in. Picking up some of his art supplies as they proceeded, Feliciano showed Kiku to his room. "Don't worry, I'll clean up your side and make sure everything is organised… soon, anyway."

Proceeding on, he asked (still gathering up the supplies, with Kiku's attempts at helping), "What course are you taking? You can clearly see I'm taking fine arts, and my _fratello_ takes music – he mainly plays the violin. I'm just starting out too, with my brother!" Kiku replied curtly, elaborating a little on his course since Feliciano didn't quite seem to recognise or understand it.

After quite a while of organising, the dorm finally returned to a more manageable state, and Kiku looked around at his new home. On Feliciano's side of the dorm, he saw a photo frame, inside which was a picture of Feliciano and what he assumed was his family. In the picture, Feliciano stood in the middle of two siblings, one of which was the aforementioned "dark-skinned version of him", while his mother and grandfather stood behind. The curls in their hair were all slightly different, but other than that, they looked like splitting images of each other. However, while Feliciano was beaming with his younger brother, the remaining one was sulking – reflecting the described difference between the two of them.

Noticing that Kiku was looking at the photo frame, Feliciano picked it up to tell Kiku more. "That's my older brother, Lovino – you can call him Romano! He always sulks when people try taking pictures of him, even though he actually likes the attention. My younger brother, Romeo, always tries to charm the girls with that smile – and it actually works better than mine and Lovino's! It doesn't matter to me though."

Just then, the door swung open, as a deeper Italian voice called out, "Oi, Vene, you wanna go get some coffee?" Kiku turned to look at the door, as a male with greenish hazel eyes, almost olive, and dark brown hair entered the room. His hair curled up at the front, similarly to his brother's, and he indeed was darker-skinned. His entire demeanour was different from Feliciano's, but it was clear that they were related from their ways of interacting and their appearance.

Noticing Kiku, he decided to introduce himself. "I'm Lovino. You must be the Vene's new roommate, huh? Good luck living with him." Lovino said it in a carefree way, pretending he didn't care, but Kiku caught on almost immediately that he was honestly just as excited to meet new people as his younger brother, much as he tried to hide it. He wasn't successful, since the edges of his lips were curled upwards in a grin. Kiku introduced himself too.

"It's nice to meet you. If you want, I guess you can tag along. Might as well show you around, right?" Turning to look at his younger brother, he asked with a fake irritated tone, "Vene, are you going to get some coffee or not, you bastard?"

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Later, after Feliciano and Kiku finally finished packing everything up (with the begrudging help of Lovino), the group headed to the nearest Starbucks about a block away. On the way, the Italian siblings told Kiku about their lives and families, to make conversation.

"Oh, I haven't told you about my _nonno_ and _mamma_! _Nonno_ used to be a painter – that's why I'm taking art! _Nonno_ was famous for his paintings when he was younger, but now he works in mamma's restaurant as a waiter! He's popular with the ladies, and is actually really active, even though he's old, ve!"

"Vene and I sometimes help _mamma_ out during the break. He cooks the pasta and I cook the pizza. We should bring you to eat there sometime – _Nonno_ would probably be more than happy to treat you to a feast. _Mamma_ uses traditional recipes and ingredients, so you can be sure our food is super authentic. We even have fusion cuisine, all prepared by her! Our food is the fucking best, you won't regret it."

Exchanging anecdotes about their lives, the trio enjoyed their conversation on their way to Starbucks. They soon arrived, and looked at the queue. Although the term hadn't started yet and most students were still vacationing, there were already many people in the café, all of different nationalities. Truly, the university deserved its moniker as an international institution.

Standing in line, Kiku tried to decide on a drink. "Their tea lattes pale in comparison to the great caramel macchiato. That shit's fucking beautiful." "Ve, it's the season for pumpkin everything, go for it." Following Feliciano's advice, he settled for a pumpkin spice latte, and a slice of red velvet cake.

When it was finally their turn, Lovino ordered for the three of them. Without even looking up, he placed the order. "A tall pumpkin spice latte with soy milk, for Kiku. A grande Strawberry Fruit Jelly Yogurt Frappuccino, for Vene. And…" Even before he completed his order, the cashier piped up cheerfully.

"Your usual caramel macchiato, grande?" On hearing the cashier's voice, Lovino looked up in recognition. "Oh, it's… you. I thought it was your off day. Yes, that. And a slice of red velvet, please." Upon closer inspection, Kiku noticed that Lovino's face was just a small tinge redder.

He clearly wasn't the only one who noticed – as soon as they paid, Feliciano commented on it. "Hey, Romano, why're you blushing? Do you like him or something?" His question was asked in a whisper, but to Lovino, it sounded like thunder. "N-No I don't! Don't insinuate such things about me!" What a tsundere, Kiku thought to himself. Aloud, he said, "Lovino-san, you're blushing." Upon hearing that, Lovino got three shades darker. "A-Anyway, it's not true, okay? H-He's kinda cute, but that's it!" The whole conversation was carried out as a series of whispers to prevent anyone from overhearing, but even so, the flustered Lovino wanted it to end as quickly as possible.

When the order was done, the cashier placed them on the counter, each signed with the different names. On each, there was a drawing of a mochi with a tomato hat, saying thank you. Kiku looked at the cashier's appearance. Like Lovino, he had green eyes, but his were more emerald than olive. He also had brown hair and he was just as tan as Lovino. Kiku could see that he was a friendly person from his demeanour. In a way, he could see the charm that Lovino saw in the person. On his name tag, it said "Antonio", and the same mochi with a tomato hat was drawn next to it.

Unable to bring himself to look at Antonio, Lovino simply grabbed the cups and the cake. Just as he was about to leave, he realised there was an extra slice of cake – his personal favourite from Starbucks, New York cheesecake. On his own coffee cup, an extra message was written – "This cake's on me! Don't worry, I paid for it. It's thanks for stopping by almost every day. -Antonio" Barely even looking up to face Antonio, Lovino mumbled a "thank you" that was greeted with a friendly wink.

Feliciano couldn't help but tease Lovino about the entire time they were at Starbucks, even as they enjoyed their individual drinks. Kiku, who had basically never drunk any Starbucks drink outside of the basic latte, was surprised at the flavour of the cake and drink. Meanwhile, Lovino struggled to keep the reddish tint off his face, even as Feliciano commented on the whole issue. "Sure, it's not the first time this happened, but now someone agrees with me! If you really like him, then say so! I'm sure _Nonno_ would love to hear that his oldest grandson likes someone!" Kiku declined to contribute in the conversation, although he did make a mental note on the topic.

"L-Look, I don't like him, okay? Lay off my case! I already told you, he's kind of cute, but that's it! And don't you dare tell _Nonno_ about any of this!" Lovino quickly finished his food and left in a flurry, attempting to leave the conversation at that. Feliciano watched as his older brother left through the doors and walked back the way they came like a flustered little child, before turning to Kiku and grinning like a mastermind.

Eventually, Feliciano and Kiku left to return to their own dorm, even as Feliciano continued his evil plotting. Kiku made a note to himself to find out more should the opportunity arise, while Feliciano promised to himself to get them together somehow. As Kiku unpacked all his things (not forgetting, of course, to charge his camera), Feliciano tried to get him to contribute ideas. Getting the siblings' numbers from Feliciano, Kiku pulled out his phone to save them as contacts. Just then, he recalled Alfred's offer to show him around town. Hovering over his number, Kiku eventually decided to call him and ask once his camera and schedule allowed.

On the other hand, Lovino sat in his own dorm, sulking to himself. He'd previously planned on working on his violin skills after going to Starbucks, but Feliciano completely ruined any chances of that happening. He was grumpy. It wasn't as if Antonio was all that attractive (he was cute, b-but not _that_ much), although he was nice enough to buy a cake for Lovino! To be honest, that really made him happy – but he'd never hear the end of it if he were to admit that to his _fratello_. It was embarrassing enough already that they'd had such a conversation in front of someone the two had basically just met.

"Oh well… I'll be getting a new roommate tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be less like my brother. And hopefully he won't pry into my fucking business like it's a game. I'll go practice my pieces later." However, Lovino didn't feel like getting up from his couch and practicing, so he simply pulled out his phone and scrolled through Instagram. In the end, all he did that day was go on the internet to post random pictures of food on his various social media accounts or talk to his internet friends. Another productive day well-spent.

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 **A/N : Look, I'm gushing over buildings! I don't quite know much about architecture and stuff, but I commonly hear that part of their coursework is to analyse the structure of other (usually) famous buildings, especially difficult-to-build ones, as well as how they are built.** **Ameripan will take a while to get to, since right now I'm focussed on introducing everyone. Please rate and review! :D**

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 _Marukaite Chikyuu, boku Hetalia! :_ The theme song of the first Hetalia season. If you don't know, it means "draw a circle, that's the earth, I am useless Italy!" in Japanese.

 _Ciao!_ : Common Italian greeting that can mean both hello and goodbye.

 _Vene_ : Feliciano's mispronounciation of the Italian word "bene", for good. It's a trait he's had since young.

 _Fratello_ : Italian for "brother".

 _Nonno_ : Italian for "grandfather".

* * *

Characters:

Feliciano Vargas, 20. North Italy.  
 _A beginning Fine Arts student, he loves all Italian dishes and makes a mean spaghetti. His nickname, Vene, comes from his frequent mispronounciation of "bene". He intends to become an artist like his grandfather before him, and is well-loved by his family. He and Lovino share the same birthday, a year apart._

Lovino Vargas, 21. South Italy.  
 _A first-year Music student, he plays the violin skilfully and practices with Roderich Edelstein (Austria). His nickname, Romano, comes from his love for Romano cheese – when he was younger, he'd douse almost everything he ate with copious amounts of it (He doesn't mind the nickname). Lovino makes pizza like no other, and loves tomatoes just as much as cheese._

Romeo Vargas, 17. Seborga (from Italy).  
 _He's two years older than the other students in his level, as a result of moving from Italy to America. He's flirtatious and knows a shocking amount of horticulture and flowers as a whole, and is a relatively popular person. His best friends are Peter and Kaelin, and he's one of the ones who work to pair them together._

Romulus Vargas. Ancient Rome (from Italy).  
 _The grandfather of the three children, he was a famous artist in his time. In more recent days, he runs an Italian restaurant with his daughter-in-law, Lavinia. He loves his grandchildren a lot, and isn't a devout Catholic – he doesn't really care as much about their sexuality or orientation, as long as they're happy._

Antonio Fernandez Carriedo (aka "the cashier"), 22. Spain.  
 _A first year in Culinary Arts, he leeches off his best friend Francis for living arrangements. Due to his lack of funds, he has no choice but to work part-time at Starbucks. He dreams of becoming a chef, and really loves Italian cooking. He's memorised the order of most regulars by heart, making him a good waiter and cashier as well._

Lavinia Vargas. Unified Italy.  
 _Daughter-in-law of Romulus, she loves her sons, and runs an Italian restaurant with authentic dishes. However, her love for experimentation also means there are many delicacies unique to their restaurant. Her charming appearance coupled with her enthusiastic nature makes her a hit with customers. She is more dedicated to her children's happiness, and is fully aware that both are homosexual._


	3. Roommates

**Chapter 3 : Roommates**

 _A/N : Hey! I wanted to show that I've read my reviews w 19jg01, don't worry – Alfie and Kiku will return to the spotlight soon! This temporary tangent serves to introduce everyone as far as possible, and place them in context of the university. After all, Kiku can't always be clinging to Alfred, and vice versa. Thank you for reading and reviewing!_

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Antonio Fernandez Carriedo had decided, for some reason, to buy a cake for a regular at Starbucks. And that meant that the money came out of his own pocket. He was already poor enough on his own, why exactly did he do that? Whatever the case, Antonio liked seeing people happy – and he supposed that was the reason behind his action. After all, the person he bought it for was such a regular that he'd basically never worked a day without seeing him at least once. It was better to just put what he did behind him and forget it, before it made him upset at his poor planning. Once he was done with his shift at Starbucks, he took off the apron and left for Francis's house.

Ever since he came to live in New York a few months back, he'd been living in his best friend's house. Unable to afford a room on his own, Francis took him in. After all, his house was near the university and the Starbucks, so Antonio wouldn't need to travel for long periods of time just to get anywhere. Even so, Antonio felt bad for having to leech off him, and eventually decided to move out and get a room in a dorm. This way, he wouldn't be a freeloader in the Bonnefoy household. Francis previously tried convincing him otherwise, knowing that Antonio would have to work even harder to upkeep it, but it was to no avail. Once Antonio set his mind to something, he was stubborn enough not to change it.

When he finally arrived in the Bonnefoy household after walking for a while, he was greeted by Michelle. The younger sister of Francis, she looked considerably darker-skinned than him, and it was immediately obvious that they had no blood relation. They were stepsiblings, a result of his father's marriage with Michelle's mother from Seychelles. Francis always treated her like a child, to her slight dismay as she got older. They were less than a year apart in age, and Michelle was fully able to live on her own. However, while Michelle and Francis argued sometimes over small issues, the two were very close and trusted each other with all sorts of matters.

"Oh, Antonio. Are you really not going to change your mind? If you really want, you can just stay and pay some "rent". Matthew and I both don't mind, and Francis clearly wants you to stay." Michelle really couldn't care less either way – in fact, because of Antonio moving in, she had to move out of her old room. In truth, she was a little irked that she had to leave at first, but she finally had the opportunity to find a place to live that was much closer to her work headquarters. Of course, Antonio was aware of that – he suspected that the only real reason Michelle was asking was because Francis pleaded her to try and convince him. Throughout the entire conversation, Michelle was simply staring at the screen before her, editing her weekly review for the travel column.

"No, it's fine. I can manage." Antonio said it in a dismissing tone, trying to convince Michelle not to pursue the topic – even though he knew it wouldn't matter either way. Michelle was on his side every time Francis asked him to stay behind, knowing that Antonio wanted to make his own decisions. At the end of the day, Michelle asking Antonio about the matter was only a formality. If it had been Matthew, convincing him would be a lot harder, but he was nowhere to be found in the living room. That fact was good for him, of course – he wouldn't need to repeat his statements multiple times. In an attempt to leave the conversation the way it did, Antonio hurriedly left the living room before Michelle could reply, heading to his own room in the attic. On his way up, he heard a soft voice speak up from nearby. "Antonio?"

Matthew was the youngest of the Bonnefoy family, and was adopted from an orphanage after the marriage of their parents. Originally from Quebec, he already knew French and English – the two languages that was widely spoken in the house. He had blonde hair that curled towards the edges, and had always been a soft-spoken child since young. Even his purple eyes matched Francis's, and everyone always thought that they were of real blood relation. Matthew's unusual reluctance to interact with others around him stemmed from an underlying fear he had of social situations – because of it, he spent most of his time studying in his room, just like a hermit. Matthew had very few friends outside of the Bonnefoy household, and it took a long time for him to get used to Antonio's presence in the house.

"Matthew? Did Francis make you ask me to stay behind too?" Antonio exclaimed, surprised to see the 18-year-old. He was standing near the doorway of his own room, apparently having heard Antonio coming up the stairs. The door was barely cracked open, just enough for Matthew to peek out at Antonio. "If he did, please tell him that I already made up my mind. Really. It's fine if I have to pay more when I move out." It wasn't that Antonio wanted to interrupt him, or cut him short – he simply hated when others tried to change his mind, even if it was better to listen to them – a fact that he admitted multiple times over. Antonio was really an obtuse person, much to the disdain of his close friend.

"N-No, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I-I respect your decision. It's not that you ever bothered any of us, but…" Matthew trailed off, trying to find the right words for his point. "W-Well, I only wanted to ask if you… if you needed help moving out. Or if you needed anything for your new dorm. I-I might have some culinary books somewhere, if you want them… I-I mean, I wouldn't use them, so they'd probably be better with you, right?"

Antonio was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. He didn't expect that Matthew would offer help, especially since Matthew rarely spoke up in the first place. Additionally, he had agreed with Francis previously on the topic of moving out, although he had never mentioned anything about it. Most of all, books were his solace, and it never occurred to Antonio that Matthew would ever offer to give one to someone else. "…Well, I'm sure I can manage moving out on my own, but thank you for offering!" He smiled sincerely at the young blond, watching as he awkwardly shut the door to the room before proceeding to the attic.

The attic had been Michelle's room before Antonio moved in, so traces of her belongings remained. However, the large majority of the room was bare – Antonio had already packed up most of his belongings and shoved them into his baggage. He was moving into his new room the next day, so he already got everything prepared. He put up very little of his items up in the first place, since he stored all his photographs in a little folder he always carried with him. The most important one of all was a picture of him when he was a child. Taken by his mother, it was taken on a trip to Italy for his birthday. In the picture, he was smiling widely, helping to prepare dinner for the family. It was that very day that Antonio decided he wanted to be a chef when he grew up, and was his motivation for his university course.

However, since he made that dream, a lot of things had changed. After his parents died in an accident when he was 16, he was left with his cousin in California. The two had a relatively rocky relationship, having been raised apart. Miguel was his cousin from Portugal, and they never really formally met until then. Although Miguel was obliged to take care of Antonio, the two were very icy to one another, and thus Antonio moved out. It was through Miguel that he met Michelle during one of her travel visits, who was originally unable to tell them apart. Antonio also met Francis in this fashion, and became close friends as a result. His lack of funds was due to Antonio's stubborn need to be independent ever since he moved out, and Miguel never cared to try and change his mind, although he gave Antonio help through Francis and Michelle.

Even so, the dream never died, and Antonio was glad that he got where he was in life. After all, he was getting closer and closer to his dream, now that he could take Culinary Arts in the university. Once he finished his studies, he'd work at an Italian restaurant as a chef, and he'd never have to rely on Miguel's help anymore. Even as he made sure he had everything organised for the next day, he couldn't help but smile at the fact he was going to accomplish his childhood dreams at last.

Just then, his phone buzzed, snapping him out of his daze. It was a text from Arthur – Francis's childhood friend, and one of his closest confidantes – and it read, "Hello. I heard you are moving out of the Frog's house, and I want to congratulate you. I'm with him right now, and I want to invite you over to my house for dinner. I think Alfred, my younger brother, would love to meet you. It's a little weird if I texted Michelle instead, although we work together, but extend my invites to her and Matthew." Clearly a formality – the sheer fact that Arthur was with Francis told Antonio that Arthur was put to doing this by him. Additionally, there was no question of the fact that Francis would be the one cooking, since he never stopped ranting about how Arthur's cooking was terrible. (And Antonio couldn't help but agree, even though he only ate it once.)

Texting back to show his agreement, Antonio informed the other two Bonnefoy siblings and prepared to leave the house once more. Eventually, the trio arrived at Arthur's house, Michelle having driven there. It took a while to drag Matthew out of the house, but he eventually agreed resignedly, after Michelle threatened to take away his access to her books. Matthew really didn't want to go to any event where he had to talk to others, but Francis's requests were equivalent to demands to Matthew, not to mention Michelle's threat.

As soon as they arrived, they were greeted by Arthur and Francis. To Antonio's surprise, his German friend was also there. Gilbert Bielschmidt was a friend he had made during an exchange program between their schools, back when he still lived in Spain. Ever since, they were pen pals and would keep in touch in that fashion, even after Antonio moved to America. Before he moved, the two met up every single school holiday, alternating houses every year. When the two had last met face-to-face, they were forced to clean up the entire house after a particularly long food fight with Gilbert's younger brother. He still had a picture of that scene, which he looked back upon fondly.

Gilbert immediately ran forward and tightly hugged his longtime best friend. "Antonio! I haven't seen you since you moved to California! Who knew you were friends with Francis too? I wanted to be the one to introduce you to him, but sadly you apparently know him already…" He continued his long tirade, even as they walked into Arthur's house. "I met Francis quite recently, actually. I just arrived in America, since bruder and I are both studying in the same university as you. I'm taking psychology, and he's taking medicine. You're finally able to achieve that dream of yours! It must be great, huh?"

"Yeah. Are you living in one of the dorms right now? Francis probably told you all about how I was moving out of his house and into a dorm room by now, especially since he knows you know me and probably wants you to convince me to stay."

"To be fair, Francis does have a point, you know. Plus, what's there not to like about getting to stay somewhere for free? You're too stubborn for your own good, really. But I'm not going to even bother trying to convince you." Gilbert simply shrugged, leaving that conversation there. He decided to look around at everyone, while Antonio and Francis left to get all the plates out and Arthur grumbled about Francis not letting him cook once again. Suddenly, he noticed that the blonde one that just arrived wasn't in the room, leaving to find him.

Meanwhile, Alfred sat on the sofa, staring intensely at his phone. Kiku had been texting him about his day, and he wondered if the Antonio Kiku was talking about was the same one that just arrived at his house. Michelle was still working on her travel column, asking Arthur for his opinion occasionally. Matthew and Gilbert were both nowhere to be seen, and Gilbert's younger brother, Ludwig, was silently reading his book. The whole group was silent, but Alfred was bored of waiting for replies and decided to speak to the others. With no one else to start the conversation, the loud and boisterous male promptly tried to. "So… hello, I guess? I'm Alfred Foster Kirkland. I heard you were staying in the dorms. You'll probably get along with my friend, Kiku. He's quiet, but he's a cool guy. What course are you taking?"

Ludwig looked up from his book, directly at Alfred. "I'm Ludwig Bielschmidt, and I'm taking Medicine. What about you?" He couldn't care for Alfred's boisterous attitude, and wanted to go back to reading, but never let it be said that he was an impolite person. After all, he couldn't fault the male for trying to hold a conversation when that was the intended purpose of the dinner, but he only went to keep a check on his brother. Alfred appeared to be a social person, so he'd obviously want to blabber.

"I'm taking Law! I want to make sure the innocent is protected and the guilty are punished! You must like helping people, too. I'm sure you'll succeed," Alfred piped up, with a childish grin. He had an innocent demeanour about him, and clearly had a sense of wonderment and awe in the world, even though he was basically an adult already. Ludwig couldn't help but admire his optimistic attitude, even though his pessimistic self begged to disagree with Alfred's idealistic ways that interrupted his train of thought.

"Food's ready!" called Francis, from the dining room. Everyone, sans Matthew and Gilbert, got up from their seats and gathered, to find a sprawling feast of Mediterranean cuisine in front of them. Alfred couldn't help but awe, even though he already knew that Francis's cooking would be better than his elder brother's by a lot, especially since it wasn't the first time Francis cooked for them. Even so, the sheer amount of food at the table was simply amazing, so Alfred gasped in surprise. Not to mention the fact that everything was stylishly plated and served, and looked simply mouthwatering. Francis's camera lay on the kitchen counter, indicating that he had taken a picture of the homecooked masterpiece that was made by him.

"Woah, this is a lot of food! How long did you spend preparing this?" Alfred queried, curious to find out. "You're an amazing chef, Francis!"

"Oh, non, non. Antonio helped me prepare the dishes, so it took me no time at all. You should thank him for helping me cook, instead. He wants to be a chef!" Francis replied, shoving the spotlight to his best friend and Culinary Arts student.

"No, no, I didn't do much…" Antonio said, a little embarrassed, but Alfred looked at him in awe. "Oh, dude, that's so cool! You must be great at cooking too! You'll definitely be able to achieve your dreams!"

Meanwhile, Matthew was sitting out in the garden, reading the book he brought with him. Although the light outside was dimmer, the garden lamps were bright enough for him to read comfortably. Additionally, the lack of people around him was a relief. Matthew couldn't help but flee from social situations, which became a bit of a problem for him in his everyday life. He lacked friends, so he'd never get asked to go out anyway, but it also turned out to be bad for him because he couldn't go out on his own without needing to flee at every corner. In fact, it was thanks to this fear that he learnt how to get from his house to the library without being in the more public roads. However, Matthew really hated it. He wanted to be more sociable, but he couldn't help but want to run away from social situations, or face a fear that overwhelmed him easily.

Just as he settled into his chair and flipped the page, a voice came up from behind him. "Hello? Are you there?" Matthew was filled with shock, and immediately got up, preparing to run away. He hadn't even got the chance to look at the one who spoke. "W-Who are you? W-Why are you here? P-Please go away…" Matthew couldn't bear to look up at the other party, almost ready to cry. He could recognise the voice as Gilbert, even though they had never formally met. Even so, Matthew couldn't help but want to get away. He hated that feeling so much.

Gilbert paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to help him. The poor male was so startled that he was breaking down, and Gilbert could see that he really couldn't calm down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you okay?" He was an idiot for having gone to look for the missing member of the gathering, and probably should have left Antonio or Francis to do so. After all, they knew him much better than Gilbert did – it wasn't his problem to deal with. Even so, Gilbert couldn't say he really regretted his decision. Instead, he decided to try and help the blond stop crying, and deal with the issue afterwards.

Matthew sat on the wet dewy grass, his book thrown to one side. He was so shaken up by the sudden appearance of Gilbert that he was incapable of doing anything but sitting and attempting to calm down, even as he sobbed uncontrollably on the garden grounds. Gilbert watched silently for a while, then decided to sit down next to him. The two knew next to nothing about one another, yet they ended up sitting on the grass of a garden that wasn't even part of their property.

Gilbert considered leaving the blond to continue crying on his own, but felt bad for causing it to happen in the first place. Gilbert didn't even know his name, but he couldn't exactly just leave someone in need alone, could he? Sure, he was the reason why the blond started crying in the first place, but it didn't change the fact that the poor male would probably want somebody to be there for him, and the rest seemed to have left him to his own devices already. Sitting on the grass with the blond, he silently regarded the crying male, even as the latter continued asking Gilbert to go away, softer each time. In the dim light, little could be seen, but he noticed the same shakiness that he did when the blond first arrived at the house. Was he scared of strangers? He didn't seem particularly willing to interact even with his own family, either.

Once Matthew had begun to calm down, Gilbert decided to speak up once more. "Are you okay now? I'm really sorry for startling you. If you want, I can leave now – I just wanted to make sure you were really alright before I do." Although Matthew had stopped crying, he was still shaken up from the whole affair. He was grateful that Gilbert didn't just find him weird and leave with a bad impression, although he wasn't really sure if putting Gilbert through all the crying was necessarily good either. For all he knew, he might just have ruined his standing with a complete stranger, just as he always feared he would. "… I-I'm sorry. I-It's not your fault. I-I'm the one to blame. I-It's fine if you hate me now. W-We haven't even formally met and I probably already scared you…" Matthew trailed off once again, unable to continue his sentence. "I… I-I'm Matthew Bonnefoy. It's nice to meet you."

Matthew. The name was simple but stylish. "Gilbert Bielschmidt. Nice to meet you too. I'm really, really sorry for startling you just now." Gilbert picked up Matthew's book, brushing off the dirt. On closer inspection, it was Perks of Being a Wallflower – a story about a boy who was alone and blended in to the background. All things considered, it was a book that suited Matthew, based on what he knew of him. "Here's your book. Sorry that it's dirty."

Matthew gingerly took the book back from Gilbert, sighing. "T-Thank you… I heard you were also a university student. W-What course are you going to take? I'm taking Law. It's something that I like, but… I'm kind of scared to interact with people. It's difficult for me to even be in the same room as many people." Looking through the book to inspect the damage, he commented, "Although Charlie faded into the background easily, he never feared strange situations, and even wrote letters to others. It's admirable. He's so much like me and yet we're so different from one another."

"I'm taking Psychology. I just wanted to help people, but I never really wanted to be a doctor. Was it because you feared talking to us that you left? If so, I'm sorry for intruding on you. I just wanted to know why you disappeared. It wasn't my intention to scare you." Gilbert turned his eyes to look at the sky, while Matthew sat on the grass, hugging his knees. "I think I've read a little of the book before, although I sneeze and get bored of it quite fast. It's interesting, but it's not quite my style."

The two of them sat in contented silence for a while, before Gilbert brought up the reason for him coming out in the first place. "The others must be hungry by now, but they might be waiting for us. Do you want to head indoors now?" Matthew began mumbling to himself, suddenly remembering that he had left the rest without even an excuse. "T-They must think that I'm a bad person now, leaving them halfway… I-I have to go back in, but t-they must hate me more afterwards…" With an increasingly panicked voice, he continued uttering these frenzied strings of words, until Gilbert decided to interrupt him.

"It's fine. I know my brother and Antonio won't mind one bit, and I'm sure your family won't either. Though you probably know the Kirklands better than me, they don't seem like the judgemental kind. If any of them ask, I'll tell them that I wanted to stay out here longer." Getting to his feet, Gilbert offered a hand to help the other do the same. "Let's go."

Matthew looked at Gilbert and mumbled a soft "thank you", before the two headed in. Just as Gilbert said, not a single member of the group minded, although Alfred's inability to tell the atmosphere resulted in Matthew being pestered with needless questions, and a few of the others intervening. After all, Alfred really couldn't be blamed for wanting to make friends, especially since that was the true purpose of this impromptu gathering.

The next day, Antonio set out from the Bonnefoy house with Alfred and the Bielschmidt siblings, who insisted on helping him move even though he didn't need it. Francis was still throwing his little overdramatic tantrum about Antonio leaving, so Michelle spent most of her time pacifying her elder brother while Matthew put on his headphones and ignored everything he said. In the end, Matthew left the culinary books outside of Antonio's door before he woke up, so Gilbert ended up helping him carry the ludicrous number of tomes. Gilbert was convinced Matthew had an entire library in his room, simply from the fact that he had enough books to give Antonio and still have a whole collection.

The entire trip to the dormitory building, Alfred was attempting to guess at what Antonio's ideal roommate would be like, while Gilbert wondered if their rooms would be located near each other. "Hey, if we're going to be close by, I'm so going to bring drinks over every once in a while." Ludwig commented that Alfred appeared to be the only one who knew anybody from the dormitory thus far, since the Bielschmidt siblings shared a dorm and didn't yet have an opportunity to talk to the others. However, he strongly discouraged his brother from disturbing Antonio and his roommate too often, although Gilbert simply shrugged it off.

When the crew finally reached the dormitory, Alfred decided to check upon his Japanese friend, who happened to be on the lowest floor with his Italian roommate while the Bielschmidt siblings went to check where Antonio would be staying. Antonio, following him, recognised the duo almost immediately. They were the ones who went with Lovino to Starbucks the previous day, meaning that they probably were friends of his. The two of them seemed to recognise him too, as the Italian immediately piped up. "Oh, ciao! Are you moving in? I'm Feliciano, from the café yesterday. Romano – that's Lovino, you know him already – would probably love to see you around. It's nice to meet you, really!"

"Oh, dude, what a coincidence! This is Kiku, my friend, but apparently, you've met him before! Kiku was telling me about his day, and he mentioned you, although I didn't know then. I heard about what happened at Starbucks, but somehow I didn't think…" Kiku took this as his cue to attempt to make Alfred shut up, before he accidentally revealed the whole conversation. Politely greeting Antonio and formally introducing himself, he struggled to keep the talkative American's mouth shut.

"Oi, Vene, don't go spreading lies about me, you bastard. I heard the whole conversation." Lovino's voice floated down the corridor, and he soon appeared to greet Antonio and Alfred. "Hello, Antonio. A surprise to see you here. And who are you?" Lovino's nonchalantly dismissive attitude had no effect on Alfred, since he completely lacked the ability to read the mood. The ever-boisterous male continued with his self-introduction, and cheerfully interacted with the others around him, even though Lovino wanted to talk to Feliciano and Antonio, while Kiku desperately wanted Alfred to shut up before he ruined his own reputation.

"Toni, it looks like we're in luck – you're the opposite corridor from us. We'll be able to go for drinks with one another. Now West can't bar me from going over every once in a while – you better be prepared to cook dishes for me!" Gilbert announced his presence with supposed "good news", Ludwig following behind him. Immediately homing in on his long-time pen pal, he laughed obnoxiously as he strode over, still carrying all the culinary books.

"More importantly, it seems you'll be rooming with someone called… Lovino Vargas. I seem to recall Alfred mentioning him when he was talking about his friend's friends yesterday. Maybe they can get in contact." Ludwig exclaimed it in a matter-of-fact way, as he looked at each new person in turn, starting from the raven-haired male who he assumed to be Kiku, before watching the tan foul-tempered man's expression of surprise and finally looking at the preppy-looking Italian who was too laughing about something and elbowing his presumed twin. Why was he laughing, anyway? No one had told any joke. At least, not from his point of view.

Meanwhile, Antonio heard the familiar name and couldn't help but react in shock. It couldn't possibly be the same Lovino as the one he was presently talking to, could it? However, Lovino really wasn't a common name – it wasn't even a legitimate Italian name. Which could only mean…

"Wait, what the fuck?! You're my new roommate of all people?!" Lovino's loud explosion confirmed it for Antonio. While the others were busy introducing themselves to one another, Lovino was too busy being in disbelief at the whole circumstance. First his brother teases him about his status as a regular and thinks he likes the cashier Antonio, who simply happened to be a friend and nothing else, and now the very man himself turns out to be his new roommate. How is he supposed to deal with that? On the other hand, Antonio was secretly relieved that his roommate wasn't a complete stranger, although it was a strange coincidence that it just so happened to be the very regular that he only just bought the cake – a decision he still regretted, by the way – for.

" _Mio_ _Dio_! Of all people, why did it have to be you? Now Vene's never going to shut up about it!" Lovino lamented his sad fate, although Feliciano was still giggling away at the whole sight. Ludwig was still just as confused as he started out, and decided to ask Kiku, although he had gotten no useful reply. Behind Antonio, Gilbert was still plotting ways to sneak into the room undetected, and Alfred, completely oblivious to the story behind events that were transpiring, continued talking to the others about irrelevant topics.

Eventually, the whole group, except Ludwig who returned to his own room and Alfred who was abruptly summoned home, moved over to Lovino's (and now Antonio's) dorm room. Although it was messy and unorganised to a certain extent, there was a quaint charm to the whole place. A piano keyboard lay in one corner of the room, with a violin case next to it. The bookshelves next to it was filled with different scores, seemingly organised based on instrument. Within one look, Antonio could tell Lovino really loved music and probably took the subject. After all, when a corner was dedicated simply to instruments and sheet music, one couldn't possibly completely lack interest in it, could they? Although pictures were few and far between, most of them starred Lovino and his family. The most notable one was taken outside an Italian restaurant. It was the only picture that Lovino was truly smiling in, and was on the table directly next to the music corner.

Before Antonio got a chance to look at it further, Lovino quickly put it away with his other belongings. Gilbert placed Antonio's culinary books on a table nearer to the door and took the chance to look around at his best friend's new abode, while Kiku once more helped Lovino in packing things away like he did for Lovino's younger brother. Antonio was told multiple times, in particularly "flowery" language, not to touch anything belonging to him. Feliciano remarked on how astonishingly neat it was for Lovino, to which he retorted with a "Bastard, at least I'm better than you in keeping things organised."

Finally, everything was neatly organised and back in their rightful place, and everyone returned to their dorms to carry out other activities. "Don't you dare touch any of my instruments. If you break them somehow, you're paying for it." Antonio wasn't about to take the risk. After all, he was trying to save money for his rent and studies, and paying for damage to an expensive instrument was the last thing he needed. Anyway, although he could kind of play the piano to some extent, his lack of practice meant he had very rusty skills in playing instruments.

"Oh, before I forget. One of my friends will sometimes come over to practice music with me. You probably won't know someone like him, but I'm telling you just so you don't freak out if he's around while I'm temporarily out." Antonio couldn't help but wonder how life would be like in this new situation. Now that he was rooming with Lovino, he could already tell a lot more things would be changing without him realising.

* * *

 **A/N : Gilbert majors in Psychology, but he only just attended university because he was waiting for his younger brother to graduate. (It complements Matt's issues, too.) A little bit of background for everyone involved! Once again, thank you for reading this. Please review it! ~Sparrow Messenger**

* * *

 _Mio Dio_ : Italian for "My God".

Francis Bonnefoy, 24. France. _  
He has been friends with Arthur since young. Francis works as a freelance photographer, and earns a lot from the pictures he has sold. He loves drinking wine and coffee, and his pastime is to annoy the living daylights out of his childhood friend, although he would fight those who dared to hurt him in any way. His nickname is the Frog._

Michelle Bonnefoy, 23. Seychelles. _  
Working as a writer for the travel column in a newsletter, she travels all over the world relatively frequently, although she does love being in New York most. She works with Arthur and Miguel frequently, due to the nature of her job. Michelle loves the ocean, and has written many a report about sea towns and wineries._

Matthew Bonnefoy, 18. Canada. _  
Originally Matthew Williams, he was an orphan for as long as he could remember. However, he has social anxiety, and prefers to be alone, never having many friends. He usually hides in his room, and only goes out of the house to borrow books from the library, avoiding as many people as possible. He studies Law, and is an intellectual._

Miguel Domingos Lisboa-Carriedo, 25. Portugal. _  
He is affluent and works as a manager of a company of farms and wineries, from all over the world. Although he has an icy relationship with his cousin, he truly wants him to succeed and achieve his dreams, helping him from the shadows. His home base is in California, at one of the farms that he sometimes helps out in._

Gilbert Bielschmidt, 22. Prussia (from Germany). _  
_ _His heterochromatic red-blue eyes and silvery platinum blonde hair attracted attention easily. Gilbert was smarter than people thought, and read the mood more easily than he seemed, although his carefree attitude made him seem nonchalant about everything. He wishes to help people, even though he is a troublemaker at the same time._

Ludwig Bielschmidt, 21. Germany. _  
Nicknamed "West" by his brother, he loves dogs so much that he has three – Berlitz, Aster, and Blackie. Ludwig aspires to be a doctor, and is hardworking and studious as a result. Although he is the younger of the siblings, he has more control over the house than Gilbert does. He also loves baking cakes and cookies, although he would never admit that to anyone._


	4. New York

**Chapter 4 : New York**

 _A/N : I may or may not have lost access to my account for quite some time, and my computer loves messing up my sight. Sorry about that. I also may or may not have missed out an introduction to Lavinia Vargas. Also sorry about that. I swear, I've been working on this in my limited spare time, though my head's buzzing with ideas for everyone except the main couple. Sorry. About. That. I love Ameripan but Prucan and Spamano. Have some bonus Spamano to go with the Ameripan today. On with the story!_

After the events of the previous few days, Kiku was glad to have a break. Meeting new people was nice and all, but it was stressful too. He was never that social of a person, and just needed a bit of time away from the hustle and bustle of the dorms. Additionally, everyone around him was just a little too hyperactive for his liking – although he didn't dislike any of them, they were much too different from the people he was used to. Of course, he definitely enjoyed being roommates with Feliciano – and every day in the dorm building was already showing to be a unique one – but even so, he needed some time to attend to his hobbies and properly see New York. The school year would be beginning in no time, and he was better off attempting to at least get the basics of the city down before then. That way, no matter how many weird activities he got drawn into by one of the others, at least he wouldn't be completely awkward about it. As a bonus, knowing his way around the city meant he could go anywhere he wanted on his own, if he wanted a getaway from the rest.

Kiku had mostly unpacked and set up everything already. His programming and game design books sat quietly next to his table, which was neat and organised. They weren't completely untouched – in fact, there were already many annotations in a few of them – but Kiku hadn't finished a single one of the books yet. His clothes hung neatly in his closet, except for the red jacket draping his chair, and his few shoes were at the door of the room (Kiku preferred to walk around without his shoes on, although he kept his socks on almost perpetually). A small picture frame perched on the shelf, accompanied by various tools and instruments Kiku rarely used when he needed to repair one of his electronic devices. In the frame was a picture he'd taken a long time ago, back when he first got his camera. It was a picture of his family that they took in the small _karesansui_ within their house. In it, his elder brother, Yao, was embracing his stuffed panda toy he had gotten from an exchange student from Russia, and Yiling, his younger sister was seated cheerfully on the bench in front. Since then, Yiling had run away from home, and was now taken care of by their cousins from Hong Kong.

Overall, his room was neat, but a little drab. While Feliciano's was full of personality, his lacked the life that people came to associate with dorm rooms. Even though Feliciano wasn't particularly organised – in fact, he could see the mess from the first day beginning to return – his side had much more to see and portrayed much more of the bubbly Italian. Kiku's side could have belonged to anyone, with how little was shown about him. The only real sign that it was Kiku's room was the picture frame, and the carelessly hidden stack of Japanese games in one corner. Eventually, the room would end up gaining some life anyway, thought Kiku, so I don't need to try and do so. Whatever happens will happen.

Feliciano was out for the day, claiming to be "getting more art supplies, ve!" so the dorm was quieter than usual. Picking up his phone, Kiku turned it on and scrolled through his contact list. Tapping on one of them, he began the phone call. "Hello? Kiku?"

" _Ohayo_ , Alfred-san. I hope I am not interrupting anything." Kiku spoke, polite as ever.

"Hey, dude! What do you need?" Alfred, who was on the other end, was as boisterous as ever. In the background, Kiku could hear the muffled sounds of arguments, only catching the words "bloody frog".

"Are you free today? I wanted to explore New York and take some pictures, but I am not very familiar with the area so…" Before he could even finish his sentence, Alfred interrupted him with a hearty laugh.

"I'll be there in a sec! Don't worry, I know the ins and outs of this city, so trust me to be your tour guide for the day!"

" _H-hai, arigato_. I'll see you in front of the gates." The only response Kiku had in return was the beep tone following the call, alerting him to the fact that Alfred already hung up before he got to finish his sentence. Kiku sighed, shaking his head. Why was everyone in such a rush all the time? It would take him some time to get used to the fast-paced Western life. Getting up from the chair he had slumped on, he took his camera bag, shoved his phone in and walked out of the dorm building.

Meanwhile, Antonio was going about his normal activities. He had unpacked most of his belongings already – he did have very little to note anyway – so he took a closer look at his roommate's half. One thing he noticed about the "music corner" as he called it, much to Lovino's inexplicable annoyance, was that it felt like the homeliest part of the whole dorm. While Lovino probably would have preferred an actual grand piano, he decided it was more trouble than was worth to get one into the dorm and move it out afterwards, so he settled for the piano keyboard that now sat gingerly on its elevated stand. Based on the inconspicuous picture that was placed innocently next to the shelf of scores, it seemed Lovino had an actual grand piano back in his own home. Come to think of it, Antonio realised, Lovino never actually told him where he stayed, though he supposed that was nothing out of the ordinary.

Leaning on the shelf of scores was a well-worn violin case. It seemed to be Lovino's main instrument of choice, since a larger proportion of the pictures where instruments appeared around the dorm featured the violin. Most of the shelves were occupied by either solo-violin scores or violin sonatas, with very few other instruments having sheet music on the shelf. Antonio, unsurprisingly, recognised some of the scores. His parents had been avid fans of classical music – while he wouldn't say he hated it, he couldn't say he particularly cared for it much either, having been desensitized to its fresh and new allure after years – and thus he grew up knowing about many of the famous pieces. It was why he learnt how to play the piano, even though he didn't care for the instrument all that much. The guitar was his preference by far, although ukuleles were a choice too. It reminded him of his hometown, due to the large prevalence of songs played on the guitar.

But of course, there was also the anger that classical music couldn't help but return to him occasionally. If Antonio were to be perfectly honest with himself, the piano was the only instrument that brought painful memories back to him, so he was secretly grateful that his roommate played the violin instead. It had been so many years since the incident happened, but it completely turned him off classical music and left a bad taste in his mouth. He would never admit it to anyone, of course. Gilbert knew most bits and pieces of the story, but even he wasn't fully aware of the circumstances. All he knew was that he never wanted it to happen again. No one, outside of the people involved, would ever need to know.

Lovino was in his own room, and muffled music wafted through the door. He was doing all he could to avoid Antonio, although for what Antonio didn't know. Antonio never got to look inside and snoop around to see what his room looked like, although – of course – it had only been a few days since he moved in. Antonio just assumed that he was shy and unused to living with almost-complete strangers (or, as it were, a cashier at his favourite haunt), and left him alone for the most part. It was better not to interfere with a musician's work, anyway – Cielos knows he learnt his lesson.

Antonio had the day off from work, so he was free to do whatever he wanted. Read a book? Play some games? Surf the internet? For once, Antonio was at a complete loss on what to do. Of course, he could always disturb his German – correction, his "Prussian" – friend, but that idea didn't really appeal to him all that much. He'd spent too long having Francis around all the time to mess around with, so it was about time he found something to do on his own.

Without realising, he was already standing up from the comfy chair and walking towards the kitchen. About time he finally messed around in there.

Back at the entrance of the dorm, Alfred was there in a flash. Wearing his hoodie and jeans, the man looked like he was ready to go for a jog – in fact, it almost seemed as if that was how Alfred got to the dorm building in the first place. His thundering footsteps and boisterous attitude quickly alerted Kiku to his presence, and the latter looked up in mild surprise. How close could he really live to the school?

"You did not have to rush here, you know." Kiku piped up politely, looking up to meet the American's gaze. Compared to Alfred's much more casual outfit, Kiku looked a tad more formal with his white buttoned blouse and black pants. His trusty camera bag, which by all appearances looked no different from any of his usual fare, was slung over his left shoulder. "Hah, no way, man. I'm not the kinda person to make a friend wait," replied Alfred, already setting off on a walking pace towards the exit of the school. "So where do ya wanna go first? I've got a whole list of cool places we could check out. Central Park? The zoo? Grand Central Terminal?" Alfred's bouncy attitude couldn't help but rub off a little on Kiku, as they carried on their merry way forward.

That said, it was only a very miniscule bit – after all, the first place on Kiku's itinerary? "I want to go to the Museum of Modern Art."

Transit to the museum from school, as it turned out, wasn't all that long. In fact, there was a direct subway train connecting the two locations, probably why it was expected to be a favourite haunt of aspiring art students like Feliciano. Kiku was rather pleased by that, since it meant that he could visit easily whenever the exhibits changed, even if he wasn't an Art student. That said, a game designer could still have things to learn from the wide wide world of art. On the other hand, Alfred was bummed out that he had to visit such a boring place as their first location. Why couldn't it be something else, like, I don't know, Coney Island? Alfred sighed to himself. He knew his new friend was the reserved type, but museums were another planet entirely. They were just, so, boring. There was nothing the boisterous American could do other than 'appreciate' blobs of paint and lines of pencil, which didn't grab his attention any more than the floor did. Even the law books were many times more interesting than any of these pieces, at least to him. Being in that room felt like his life force was slowly being drained away from him. Why would anyone put themselves through such torture?

Kiku, meanwhile, was engrossed in each and every painting. What strange ideas! What unique styles! But more importantly, what wonderful pictures he could take of everything around him! Kiku couldn't resist from snapping a photograph of literally everything, even the plain walls surrounding each painting. There was simply so much to capture. The awe-inspiring beauty of even the most plain of things was not lost on him, unlike his silently grumbling companion. Of course, the sharp Japanese was fully aware that his companion was getting more and more bored as the minutes ticked by, so he tried to keep the time in the museum on the short side. (Short, by his standards, of course. Even an hour is an excruciating forever for the American.) After all, if he really wanted, he probably could come back with his roommate. It was an art student's place, after all.

Upon seeing Kiku begin keeping his camera into the bag after almost four whole hours of boring paintings, Alfred's face immediately lit up. "We're leaving? Finally! Where next?" Almost like an excited puppy, the American bounded towards the exit as the amused Japanese trailed behind at a leisurely pace. He was certainly glad to leave, alright. It was almost a surprisingly endearing trait of his, that somehow seemed so like him. Of course, that meant absolutely no trips to museums with the blond unless he wanted to be rushed off, but he wasn't the only option for a companion so Kiku was unaffected by it. Alfred began listing off places in the area, one by one, as he waited for Kiku to catch up. "Well, Carnegie Hall's a short walk from here, and I suppose Times Square isn't too far either, though I think it's just a little too early…" Expecting a reply, Alfred trailed off towards the end. "What do you think?"

He deserved something for enduring through the trip so far. With a small smile on his face, Kiku merely replied, "Well, Alfred-san, where do you recommend?"

Antonio was cooking up a storm with the ingredients they had in the fridge. He was glad to finally have control over the dishes he was making after so long. The ability to experiment with recipes and create something new was one he craved and required. Sticking to tradition was fine, and he loved sampling the true-blue culture of every cuisine, but he also wanted to make some dishes truly his.

That said, the flavours of Italy had captured his heart in a way no other culture did. He'd first got to sample it during his trips to Italy when he was still a small child, and a part of his ambition was to learn how to make authentic dishes. It was a fortunate accident that his new roommate was Italian, he suspected – this way, he'd get advice and criticism straight from the horse's mouth. Maybe he'd even pick up a few tips too.

Almost as if on cue, Lovino was drawn out of his room by the wondrous smell of herbs and entered the kitchen. He was, in all honesty, surprised to smell such a wonderful blend that somehow reminded him of his own cooking. Except he wouldn't say that, because that's a dumb thing to say. It was lunchtime, though, so the smell did wonders to alert him to his rumbling stomach. He hoped his roommate thought wise enough to make some for him too. Because it was his ingredients Antonio was cooking with. Yeah, that was going to be his excuse. "Hey, bastardo, you better have made some for me since you're basically using my shit." The Italian spoke up, attempting to sound completely disinterested. He failed terribly, but Antonio didn't seem to mind. In fact, it finally alerted him to the former's presence after almost five minutes of standing by the doorway.

"Oh, Lovino! You're in luck, I'm almost done. And I want you to critic my cooking." Antonio piped up, without even turning around to look at him. Which, for Lovino, was a good thing, since he wouldn't see the pink blush on his cheeks growing darker. Sitting down at the kitchen table, he hurriedly buried his whole face under his arms. Meanwhile, Antonio plated up the last of the dishes, and began transferring them a few at a time to the table. Everything was positioned beautifully, and the aroma of the food was impossible to ignore too. Lovino was almost awestruck by the whole thing. He knew Antonio was going to culinary school, but some part of him almost believed that his favourite Starbucks barista was only skilled with coffee. On some small part, he felt guilty about that. More than guilt, however, he was secretly elated he'd be the first to sample any of his dishes. After all, who wouldn't want to eat anything this stupidly adorable bastard made?

Actually, forget that. There was nothing "adorable" about the Spaniard, however much Lovino's dumb blush claimed otherwise. Meanwhile, Antonio was done setting up the table, and looked intently at Lovino, waiting for his first critique from someone new. More accurately, it was the first critique from someone who knew what they were saying. Probably. Noticing emerald eyes gazing at his own olive ones, Lovino struggled to keep the reddish tint off his face entirely as he picked up the fork and poked it into the carbonara.

"Woah, this tastes fucking amazing." And very similar to how I'd have made it, thought Lovino, except he puts way too little cheese. Upon hearing his words, the Spaniard lit up like a thousand suns and laughed cheerily. "Oh, gracias, amigo! I'm trying out new recipes, so I didn't know how it'd go…" Covering his cheek with his free left hand, Lovino tried to appear nonchalant about the whole event, even as he heartily wolfed down bite after bite of the pasta. At least he liked it. There was still a few more platters for him to try, but Antonio was content to at least gain a positive response. It was up to Lovino if he wanted to try the rest.

The walk between the museum and their destination was relatively short, and Kiku simply used his phone to snap pictures along the way. The whole journey, Alfred was talkative and boisterous, easily squirming through any crowds they encountered even with his larger figure, while Kiku manoeuvred his way through them with relative ease only due to his smaller stature. A true New Yorker really knew his way around. When they finally got to their destination, Alfred grinned widely, inhaling the air of the great outdoors surrounding him.

"Click!" went the sound of the shutter, as he turned around in mild surprise. Kiku was laughing as he showed off the magically candid photograph he'd taken of his companion, a gentle and musical sound with more sincerity and politeness characteristic of him. "I'm sorry, Alfred-san. That was the first time this whole trip you seemed to enjoy yourself. I just had to." Unlike paintings, photographs did allure Alfred – they spoke a thousand words, were excellent as evidence, and almost never lied. Except when Photoshop was involved, of course. Seeing his own face in the picture, surrounded by all the greenery, he couldn't help but laugh along. It was a beautiful photograph, made possible by a good cameraman. Kiku really knew his stuff.

"It's fine, it's fine. There's nothing wrong with taking pics of people you know. And I did always like the park, it reminded me of home. Not home with the Kirklands, but, yknow, home." Alfred's face turned slightly wistful as he finished his sentence, clearly reminiscing on old days. Kiku simply gazed out at the lush green grass ahead of him, content with simply being there in the park. The calmness of the verdant field reminded him of his garden too, and of his little sister before she ran off. Sometimes, he wondered how she was faring, out in the world away from home. Although they still got along well, it had been a while since he heard of any news from her or even his brother. He missed them terribly.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound caught both of their attentions, and an embarrassed Alfred rubbed his head, saying, "Sorry. I skipped breakfast today." Kiku hadn't realised it was already 2pm - or that he was feeling hungry too. It was lunchtime, and in all their excitement, he'd forgotten the time. Laughing apologetically, Kiku said, "I am sorry I lost track of time. Perhaps we should go have a meal first."

As the duo began discussing what good food places there were in the area, a dog ran past them, startling both of them out of their conversation. From a small distance away, Kiku could hear a voice calling out, "No, Hanatamago! Sit! Stop!" The small white dog simply continued bounding away, having slipped out of its owner's grasp. The sound of frantic footsteps gradually grew louder, as a tall blond male began running towards them, his companion trailing a short distance behind. Without so much as a second thought, both Kiku and Alfred joined in chasing after the dog.

In no time, the duo managed to corner the little dog and catch its leash, firmly holding on as its owners caught up. While Alfred blocked its path forward, Kiku calmed the excited dog down by petting it the same way he would have if it was his own dog back at home, Pochi. He remembered how excitable Pochi had been too when he was still a little shiba-inu puppy, freshly arrived in a new surrounding. Of course, Kiku quickly learned how to control the adorable thing, and it soon became fully trained. The dog before him looked no older than when Pochi was too, so it was understandable that she was so active. As the sound of running slowed to a jog, Hanatamago also sat down, barking cutely towards Kiku.

"Oh, thank you, thank you! Paljon kiitosa! I'm so sorry, she must have disturbed you." A grateful blond with violet eyes and a white beret said, breathless from the run. Next to him, another blond with aqua eyes simply grunted a "Thank you", and appeared much less frazzled by the run. Returning the leash to the rightful owners, Kiku simply bowed politely and said "It was no trouble at all. She is a cute little puppy." Meanwhile, Alfred looked up and was surprised to recognise the duo.

"Oh, hey! It's you, Mr. Oxentierna! You teach my little bro, right? Peter? Congrats on your marriage, by the way!" Alfred smiled wide, recognising the two from the wedding not too long ago. He'd attended with both of his brothers, on the insistence of an excited Peter. Apparently, it had been long coming, so he wanted his siblings to go with him to celebrate. The stoic Mr. Berwald simply grunted in response, while his much more talkative husband carried the conversation.

"What a coincidence! Please tell Peter I said hi and thank you! And I'm sorry we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Timo, and this is my husband, Berwald. You must be Alfred, and you're... ah! Kiku, I see. Nice to meet you!" Then, suddenly remembering something, he continued, "Why don't both of you join us for a picnic? We packed more than enough food, and it's lunchtime so you must be hungry. Consider it our thanks!"

* * *

 _A/N : Hahahaha I couldn't resist a little doggie and her wonderful owners, Hanatamago origin story coming up next :) Get ready for a lot of the smaller countries and micronations!_

 _Karesansui_ : The Japanese term for a Japanese rock garden, more commonly known as a Zen garden.

 _Ohayo_ : Japanese for "hello" or "good morning".

 _Hai_ : Japanese "yes".

 _Arigato_ : Japanese for "thank you".

 _Cielos_ : Spanish for "Heaven".

 _Bastardo_ : Italian for "Bastard".

 _Gracias_ : Spanish for "Thank you".

 _Amigo_ : Spanish for "friend", masculine form.

 _Paljon kiitosa_ : Finnish for "Thank you very much".

Pochi. _Kiku's pet of three years, he is a very loyal and obedient Shiba Inu dog. Pochi got his name from his petite frame as a young puppy, but has become a full-grown and well-trained dog since. He is currently being taken care of by Kiku's elder brother, Yao._

Hanatamago. _Owned by Timo and Berwald Oxentierna, she is an adorable and young Maltese puppy with an interesting backstory behind her frankly wild name - Egg flower? The duo love her very much, but hadn't had much luck taming her yet._

Timo Väinämöinen-Oxentierna, 32. Finland.  
 _A kind and sweet man who runs a toy shop, he is well-loved by neighbours for his generous gifts. His favourite holiday is Christmas, and make no joke - he sets up the Christmas tree almost two whole months earlier. Of all the children in his husband's class, he likes Peter Kirkland the most, due to his neverending enthusiasm._

Berwald Oxentierna, 34. Sweden.  
 _Although he appears very intimidating, he actually is very fond of children and loves his teaching job. He recently married the love of his life, a wedding that was attended by their close friends and even some of his students (and their siblings). His perpetual silence outside of class can only be rivalled by his kindness to his students._


End file.
